Planners are basically advisors. Alone, the planner does not have the power to do many of the things that cause change within the community: to commit public funds, to enact laws, to enter into contracts, or to exercise the power of eminent domain… The planner’s influence on events, then, stems from the capacity to articulate viewpoints and develop consensus and coalitions among those who do wield significant powers.

And similarly, of the importance of holding such workshops (pg. 95):

A more modern view is that good plans spring from the community itself. In this view the planner’s proper role is to facilitate the planning process and to aid it with his or her own expertise, rather than to deliver the plan full blown… The very act of participating in the planning process informs the citizen about the details of the plan. Giving time and energy to the process of planning builds the citizens’ commitment to the plan.

More positivity would help.

This project inspires us because of the fact that the people in the picture work together in a public space for a common goal: “to understand what urban planners actually do”. In our project we also want to evoke participation of citizens for a common purpose: ” to create dialogues between the citizens of Genk about their talents and skills.